It can't be a two-man show for Texas basketball to survive in the NCAA Tournament | Golden
It’s not that the Texas Longhorns beat Oklahoma in a game they needed to solidify their NCAA Tournament case, but it was how they did it.
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Ask most college basketball observers about the Horns and many would consider them a two-man offense. The general feeling is if Dylan Disu and Max Abmas play well, the Horns can play with anybody. If they both struggle, Texas can be had.
At least that was the case before the regular-season finale. The Horns put it all together against a quality opponent and did it in a game where their two leading scorers combined for only 27 points.
Before Tyrese Hunter scored a career-high 30 points, either Disu or Abmas led Texas in scoring in 12 of the last 13 games and they were the leading scorers in 13 of 18 league games overall. Texas went 10-3 in those instances. The other five? The Horns were 2-3 with Hunter being the leading scorer three times, two of them wins.
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Hunter doesn’t necessarily have to be the third musketeer every time out, but the Horns need somebody — be it him, or 6-foot-8 forward Dillon Mitchell — who had his best scoring game in weeks with 14 but still has grabbed only three rebounds in the last two games — or the ultra-athletic Chendall Weaver or the OG Brock Cunningham, who has emerged as a competent 3-point shooter in his final season.
Hunter’s performance was encouraging and hopefully a sign of things to come with the money games right around the corner.
Wednesday’s Big 12 tourney opener against Kansas State represents a nice chance to build some pre-NCAA momentum. Texas failed to win three conference games in a row this season after doing it last season when it beat Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech. The Horns also entered the NCAAs with a four-game win streak after closing with a blowout win at Kansas followed by three more wins to take the conference tournament.
Which Musketeer will step up? My money is on Hunter. If he can find a consistent gear, Texas could be a sexy tourney dark horse.
South Carolina and LSU showdown turned ugly
Not a good look: A Sunday afternoon of watching a great college women's basketball game coached by two Hall of Famers nearly turned into Wrestlemania.
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Women’s basketball is in full bloom, from Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark rewriting the record books to even Vic Schaefer’s Texas Longhorns and super freshman Madison Booker in line for a No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. There are more eyeballs on the sport than at any time in its history, so it comes as no surprise that Sunday’s SEC tourney finale between undefeated South Carolina and defending national champion LSU played to a house of more than 13,000 in Greenville, S.C., along with a national television audience of 1.5 million.
Then it turned ugly.
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Some late-game trash talking erupted into a melee after South Carolina’s 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso shoved LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson to the floor at midcourt. Johnson’s brother was actually led away in handcuffs after he jumped over the scorer’s table presumably to enter the fray. He’s facing an assault charge.
Six players were ejected and Cardoso will be suspended for the NCAA opener, the penalty for fighting.
Here’s where growing the game can be seen through two separate lenses.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who just completed an unbeaten season with a conference tourney title, didn’t hesitate to take responsibility for her players' actions.
“I want to apologize to the basketball community,” Staley said in a postgame interview. "I want to apologize for us playing a part in that. ... That's not who we are and not what we're about." She also visited with Johnson after the game to clear the air.
Meanwhile, Kim Mulkey was less diplomatic. The LSU coach had a problem with only three fouls being called in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter of an extremely physical affair, and I don’t blame her. The officials missed several obvious fouls, including at least two committed against LSU star Angel Reese, who was visibly frustrated after getting raked over the arms late in the game with no whistle.
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As far as the scuffle, she told reporters these incidents aren’t good for the game — which is true — but she couldn’t resist being, well, Mulkey: "I wish she (Cardoso) would have pushed (6-foot-3) Angel Reese.
"You're 6-8. Don't push somebody that little. That was uncalled for in my opinion. Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it.”
Nah, don’t let anyone go at it. The last thing we needed to see is a Pier-6 brawl in what was otherwise a wonderfully played ballgame.
On the other hand, I have to admit the best marquee matchups usually have a protagonist and an antagonist, an added bit of spice and intrigue, if you will. Mulkey has never shied away from controversy dating back to her days at Baylor and she just donned the black hat, this coming after she pulled a Gregg Popovich in the first half with a dismissive answer of sideline reporter Brooke Weisbrod’s simple question about the game’s physical nature.
Whether you agree or disagree with Mulkey’s stance doesn’t really matter. She predictably chose not to take the high road, but that’s been her MO for more than 20 years. With that said, sports are about competition and rivalries. The next time LSU and South Carolina meet, even more people will be watching, including yours truly. These two are made for one another.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson? Hard pass, unless ...
Don’t buy the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight unless you’re not a fan of real boxing.
We know Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones can throw a great party and there’s bound to be 50,000-plus at AT&T Stadium for it, but let’s not confuse this July exhibition with an authentic meeting of two individuals planning to engage in some old-school fisticuffs.
It’s a money grab. Netflix will deliver a big bag and Paul will deliver an audience. Surely at least 100,000 of his 15 million social media followers will tune in.
I’m not a Paul fan, but I love his media savvy. He’s smart enough to never engage someone like 33-year-old Canelo Alvarez, who would blow him out in quick fashion. Instead, he challenges Tyson, who's 58 and a soon-to-be grandfather who's more Geritol than Iron these days. He's been working out regularly in the ring and looks great, but he hasn’t been a serious fighter since the Clinton administration.
It would be a hard pass if it was on pay-per-view, but since it’s on Netflix and my bill is on auto-pay ...
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball needs more production besides Dylan Disu, Max Abmas
